Each week Henry Olsen, columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, will talk about the presidential and congressional races with leading...
Trump, Tariffs and an off-season Tuesday: those are the three Ts Henry tackles today in this all-rant episode! We start with an analysis of the consequences of the post-Reagan Washington Consensus and how Donald Trump built a political coalition around his resolute opposition to it. Then, Henry looks into the bet the administration is making while exploring the political ramifications to follow depending on how the global economy’s many actors respond. Finally, he pops the hood on the results of Tuesday’s special elections to gauge the latest so-called “referendum on Trump.”
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45:34
Wisconsin’s Cheddar-Infused Supreme Court Race
America's dairyland has a springtime supreme court election that is expected to break turnout records. The ostensibly non-partisan race between judges Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel will determine whether liberals maintain control of the state judiciary, and that's grabbed the attention of the national parties. Henry brings back the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Craig Gilbert to keep tabs on the big money and the stunning get-out-the-vote effort, along with a deep dive into Wisconsin's recent voting patterns, to give listeners an idea of what to look for as returns come in for this extra-sharp, off-season election.
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34:00
Norm-busting vs. Lawbreaking with Yuval Levin
One hears of our constitutional crisis often enough nowadays that an observer of American politics might wonder what we'll say if the event comes to pass. This week, Henry enlists AEI's Yuval Levin to identify and account for the pent-up tensions in a system designed to restrain ambitious rulers. The duo hammer out the roles of independent agencies in a government limited to three branches; stress test the originally unanticipated dilemma of congressional pliancy; and consult the schematic on the executive's authority over impoundment, rescission, tariffs and treaties.Tune in for a commute-friendly masterclass on Constitutional authority in the era of DOGE and EOs.
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49:30
How Data Nerds Earned Their Seat at the Table
Tragedy hit the once-marginalized psephological community last week when FiveThirtyEight closed shop. Henry hosts a celebration of life with two of its top contributors, Nathaniel Rakich and Geoffrey Skelley, to discuss the former outfit's inconceivable achievement of mainstreaming political data journalism. The trio digs into the explosive history of innovative election modeling and explores the lingering unknowns while looking to the future for a field tasked with telling the human story behind complicated quantifications.
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43:05
Smash and Grab Politics with Amy Walter
Henry and The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter reconvene after Donald Trump's address before Congress. They wonder how Tuesday's performance will play with the voters outside Trump's base who won him the election; consider the risks attendant to his coalition in making moves on Ukraine and tariffs; and think through partisan mandate strategy in a country with a teeter-totter electorate. Plus, they look to 2026 and beyond to speculate on who might help the flat-footed opposition regain its balance.
Each week Henry Olsen, columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, will talk about the presidential and congressional races with leading political journalists and analysts, people who are out in the field and won't give you media spin. Find out who's leading the pack and who's an also-ran, with Beyond the Polls with Henry Olsen.Listen to Beyond the Polls with Henry Olsen, along with more than 40 other original podcasts, at Ricochet.com. No paid subscription required.
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